RMT - RASTER MUSIC TRACKER

RASTER Music Tracker v1.31 by Radek Sterba, RASTER/C.P.U. 2002-2009
Unofficial version by VinsCool, 2021

Operation Manual Version 1.31.1

Disclaimer:

RMT IS A SOFTWARE WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE AUTHOR DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE OF THE SOFTWARE, OR WRITTEN MATERIALS, IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU.

All edit modes

Hotkeys

 ESC Stop playing song, mute all sounds.
 SHIFT  ESC Stop playing song, mute all sounds and reinitialise the sound output.
 F1 Switch to TRACK EDIT.
 F2 Switch to INSTRUMENT EDIT.
 F3 Go to INFO EDIT.
 F4 Go to SONG EDIT.
 F5 Play song from start.
 F6 Play song and loop current pattern.
 SHIFT  F6 Play and loop selection block.
 F7 Play song from current cursor position.
 SHIFT  F7 Play song from bookmark position (if set).
 F8 Set bookmark to current cursor position.
 CONTROL  F8 Clear bookmark.
 F9 Mute/Unmute current channel.
 CONTROL  F9 Solo current channel/Unmute all channels.
 SHIFT  F9 Mute/Unmute all channels.
 F11 RESPECT VOLUME mode on/off.
 F12 Turn on/off autofollow mode.
 CONTROL  F12 Toggle PAL/NTSC region.
 PAGE UP ,  PAGE DOWN Go to next/previous SONG line.
 SHIFT  PAGE UP ,  PAGE DOWN Go to next/previous subsong.
 numblock / Decrease octave for newly entered notes.
 numblock * Increase octave for newly entered notes.
 numblock - Decrease volume for newly entered notes.
 numblock + Increase volume for newly entered notes.
 CONTROL  numblock + ,  numblock - Change pattern step size up/down.
 SHIFT  tonekeys Play note with current instrument and volume on currently active channel.
 SHIFT  CONTROL  tonekeys Play note with current instrument and volume on currently active channel in both stereo channels at once.
 CONTROL  SPACE Toggle between EDIT MODE and PROVE (JAM) MODE.
 SHIFT SHIFT is used during text input for either the SONG NAME or INSTRUMENT NAME, for uppercase and special characters.
 CAPSLOCK Toggle CAPSLOCK (indicated by "CAP" in the statusbar). CAPSLOCK also inverts the SHIFT key if it is held at the same time.
 CONTROL  1-8 Turn on/off the channel 1 to 8.
 CONTROL  L Load RMT module.
 CONTROL  R Reload RMT module.
 CONTROL  S Save RMT module.
 CONTROL  W Create new RMT module.
 CONTROL  Y Redo last change.
 CONTROL  Z Undo last change.
 SHIFT  LEFT ,  RIGHT Change active instrument.
 Media PLAY Play song from start/Stop.
 Media NEXT ,  Media PREVIOUS Play song from current pattern and skip next/previous SONG line.
 ALT  F4 Exit RMT.

TRACK EDIT

NNN TT vV FSS
NNNNotes, from C-1 to C-6.
TTInstrument value, from $00 to $3F. If no note exists in highligthed row, the instrument column will behave like a note column instead.
vVVolume value, from $0 to $F Could also be used without a note or an instrument. "v" is simply added to clearly distinguish the volume value between the other columns.
FSSSpeed value, from $01 to $FF. Fxx is intended to be a speed command, this is currently placeholder strings.

Hotkeys

 UP ,  DOWN ,  LEFT ,  RIGHT ,  TAB ,  CTRL+TAB ,  SHIFT+TAB ,  PAGE UP ,  PAGE DOWN Move cursor.
 CONTROL  UP ,  DOWN , Go to next/previous SONG line.
 CONTROL  PAGE UP ,  PAGE DOWN 
 CONTROL  LEFT ,  RIGHT , Change track pattern number at current possition.
 HOME Move cursor to the start of current pattern track, or the start of a "wise loop".
 CONTROL  HOME Set/clear the start position of a "wise loop".
 END Move cursor to the end of current pattern track, or the end of a "wise loop".
 CONTROL  END , Set/clear the end line of a pattern track.
 SHIFT  CONTROL  ENTER 
 ENTER Play note at the cursor position. Every new ENTER hotkeys will also loop inside a selection block, if it exists.
 SHIFT  ENTER Play note at the cursor position and fetch its instrument and volume values, then become the active instrument.
 CONTROL  ENTER Play all notes at the currently edited line.
 CONTROL  D Duplicate the current pattern track, and put it at the same place. (Note: If the pattern track is only used once in song, a messagebox asking for confirmation will appear.)
 CONTROL  I ,  U , Insert/delete lines in the current pattern track.
 INSERT ,  DELETE 
 CONTROL  G Set "go to line" command in the song at current position.
 CONTROL  N Put new empty unused track to current song position and active channel.
 SPACE Delete note, instrument, volume and speed values in the track at the cursor position.

Note column

 tonekeys Insert note and play it. (Note: If RESPECT VOLUME is active, previous volume value won't be replaced.)
 numblock 1-6 Change octave of the note at the cursor position and play it.
 BACKSPACE Delete note and instrument values (volume and speed values will not be cleared).

Instrument number column

 tonekeys Insert note and play it. (Note: This will only work if the note column row is empty.)
 0-F Set up/change instrument number.
 BACKSPACE Delete note and instrument values (volume and speed values will not be cleared).

Volume column

 0-F Set up/change volume value.
 BACKSPACE Delete note, instrument and volume values (speed values will not be cleared).

Speed column

 0-F Set up/change speed value.
 BACKSPACE Delete speed values.

Block operations

 SHIFT  UP ,  DOWN ,  HOME ,  END Select block data.
 ESCAPE Deselect block data.
 DELETE Delete selection block data.
 HOME ,  END Go to the start/end of the selection block.
 CONTROL  A Select all valid data from the currently edited pattern track, and form a selection block.
 CONTROL  B Restore selection block data from backup. The backup is created as soon as the selection block is being formed.
 CONTROL  C Copy selection block to the clipboard. If no selection exists, the data at cursor position will be taken.
 CONTROL  E Exchange of selection block data and clipboard data.
 CONTROL  M Paste and merge data from the clipboard to the cursor position.
 CONTROL  V Paste data from the clipboard to the cursor position.
 CONTROL  X Cut selection block to the clipboard. If no selection exists, the data at cursor position will be taken.

Block data modifications

 SHIFT  CONTROL  A Block modifications mode. All changes are provided either on each line of the block, or only on lines with instrument number equal to active instrument.
 CONTROL  F2 ,  F1 Transpose note up / down by semitones (5 octaves max). If no selection exists, the data at cursor position will be taken.
 CONTROL  F4 ,  F3 Transpose note up / down by octaves (5 octaves max). If no selection exists, the data at cursor position will be taken.
 SHIFT  CONTROL  LEFT ,  RIGHT Change instrument values, from $00 to $3F max. If no selection exists, the data at cursor position will be taken.
 SHIFT  CONTROL  UP ,  DOWN Volume up/down, from $0 to $F max. If no selection exists, the data at cursor position will be taken.
 CONTROL  F Display the Block effects/tools window.

Mouse control

Tracks top area (Shown as TRACK L1 to TRACK R4 above pattern tracks)

 LeftMouseButton Turn channel on/off.
 RightMouseButton Solo channel/turn back on all channels.

INSTRUMENT EDIT

NAMEName of the instrument, 32 chars max.
ENVELOPE LENGTHLength of the envelope, from $01 to $20 (i.e. 32 max.).
ENVELOPE GOTOJump to given envelope position when the envelope end is reached.
FADEOUTVolume slide when the end of envelope is reached for the first time. $00 = no volume slide, $FF = maximal volume slide.
VOL MINMinimal volume value reached by FADEOUT parameter.
TABLE LENGTHLength of the table, from $01 to $20 steps (i.e. 32 max.).
TABLE GOTOJump to given table position when the table end is reached.
TABLE SPEEDSpeed for the each table step, from $01 to $40 vbi.
TABLE TYPETable type. 0 = notes, 1 = frequencies
TABLE MODETable mode. 0 (SET) = add note (or frequency) to base note, 1 (ADD) = add note (or frequency) to the last calculated note (or frequency). Note: If the resulting note is outside of the C-1 to C-6 range (hex values $00 to $3D), the output volume will be zero. Frequency additions are not limited however.
EFFECT DELAYDelay before the start of VIBRATO and FREQSHIFT effects by $01 to $FF vbi, $00 = no effects.
EFFECT VIBRATOVibrato effect, 3 preset levels from $01 to $03, $00 = no vibrato.
EFFECT FREQSHIFTFrequency shifting effect, from $00 to $FF for each vbi.
AUDCTL 15KHZTurn on/off AUDCTL bit 0, "Change main base clock from 64 KHz to 15 KHz".
AUDCTL HPF 2+4Turn on/off AUDCTL bit 1, "High pass filter into channel 2, clocked by channel 4".
AUDCTL HPF 1+3Turn on/off AUDCTL bit 2, "High pass filter into channel 1, clocked by channel 3".
AUDCTL JOIN 3+4Turn on/off AUDCTL bit 3, "Join channels 3 and 4 (16-bit frequency)".
AUDCTL JOIN 1+2Turn on/off AUDCTL bit 4, "Join channels 1 and 2 (16-bit frequency)".
AUDCTL 1.79 CH3Turn on/off AUDCTL bit 5, "Clock channel 3 with 1.79 MHz".
AUDCTL 1.79 CH1Turn on/off AUDCTL bit 6, "Clock channel 1 with 1.79 MHz".
AUDCTL POLY9Turn on/off AUDCTL bit 7, "Change the 17-bit poly to 9-bit poly (Distortion 0 and 8 only)".

Table of notes/frequencies

TABLE $00-$1FFrom 1 to 32 steps per table. Values can be either notes (in semitones), or frequencies, based on the TABLE TYPE value. Values can range from positive ($00 to $7F) or negative ($FF to $80) numbers.

Envelope

VOLUME RVolume values from $0 to $F, used only for stereo songs in tracks R1 to R4.
VOLUME LVolume values from $0 to $F used in tracks L1 to L4.
DISTORTIONPOKEY AUDC Distortion values, from $0 to $E. Only even values can be used, otherwise Volume Only output would occur.
COMMANDEnvelope command, from $0 to $7.
X, YBoth parameters make use of values from $0 to $F for effect commands. They can be used as a two separate parameters, or as one 8-bit hexadecimal value $XY.
AUTOFILTERAutomatic High Pass Filter envelope effect. $0 = not active, $1 = active. It will only work with channels 1 or 2. This effect automatically enables the AUDCTL High Pass Filter bits for each channel, where HPF 1+3 or HPF 2+4 may be output. It has higher priority over non filtered voices, and will hijack them while the required conditions are met. If the resulting volume is zero, filtering won't be enabled, and won't take priority over other channels. Channels 3 and 4 won't be muted, so the resulting sound could be modulated into a richer tone if desired.
PORTAMENTOPortamento. $0 = not active, $1 = active. If active, the "Portamento volatile frequency" is used instead of the current frequency. Portamento is mostly useful for producing pitch bending effects.

Sound type (DISTORTION parameter)

0Distortion 0, white noise. (AUDC $0v, Poly5+17/9)
2Distortion 2, square-ish tones. (AUDC $2v, Poly5)
4Distortion 4, no note table yet, Pure Table by default. (AUDC $4v, Poly4+5)
6Distortion C, fallback setting, buzzy bass tones. (AUDC $Cv, Poly4)
8Distortion 8, white noise. (AUDC $8v, Poly17/9)
ADistortion A, pure tones. (AUDC $Av)
CDistortion C, buzzy bass tones. (AUDC $Cv, Poly4)
EDistortion C, gritty bass tones. (AUDC $Cv, Poly4)

Envelope command (COMMAND parameter)

0Play the base note shifted by $XY semitones. If the resulting note is outside the C-1 to C-6 range (hex values $00 to $3D), the volume output will be zero.
1Play the frequency $XY directly.
2Play the base note shifted by frequency $XY.
3Add $XY semitones to base note. Play base note (new value). If the resulting note is outside the C-1 to C-6 range (hex values $00 to $3D), the volume output will be zero.
4Add frequency $XY to FSHIFT register. Play base note.
5Set up portamento speed $X, step $Y. Each $X vbi will be "volatile portamento frequency" shifted up or down by the $Y value. If $XY=$00, the current frequency will be used directly as volatile portamento frequency.
6Add $XY value to FILTER_SHFRQ. Whenever a new note in track is playing, FILTER_SHFRQ is initialized to $01, so by default the Automatic Filter channels frequencies are offset by 1 unit in order to produce SID-like sound.
7Set the instrument AUDCTL directly using $XY values. Play BASE_NOTE. Exceptions: $FF = VOLUME ONLY mode. $FE/$FD = enable/disable Two-Tone Filter (only for channel 1, modulated by channel 2).

Hotkeys

 LEFT ,  RIGHT ,  UP ,  DOWN Move cursor.
 TAB Move cursor to the instrument parameters, the envelope parameters or the table parameters in succession
 SHIFT  TAB Move cursor to the instrument name line.
 0-F ,  CONTROL+LEFT ,  CONTROL+UP ,  CONTROL+RIGHT ,  CONTROL+DOWN ,  BACKSPACE ,  SPACE ,  DELETE Change parameter values (in valid ranges only).
 SHIFT  CONTROL  UP ,  DOWN Change values for all steps of instrument envelope/table at cursor position.
 SHIFT  CONTROL  numblock + ,  numblock - Change the L+R volume envelopes up/down. If the cursor is on the "VOLUME L" or "VOLUME R" line, only the volume envelope for either line will be changed.

Table of notes/frequencies

 HOME Move cursor to the start of the table/to the start of "table loop".
 CONTROL  HOME Set up the start of "table loop".
 END Move cursor to the end of the table.
 CONTROL  END Set up the end of the table.
 INSERT Insert empty step into the table at cursor position and shift to the right.
 SHIFT  INSERT Duplicate step at cursor position and shift to the right.
 DELETE Delete step at cursor position and shift to the left.
 SPACE Clear the table step at cursor position and move cursor to the right.

Envelope parameters

 HOME Move cursor to the start of the envelope/to the start of "envelope loop".
 CONTROL  HOME Set up the start of "envelope loop".
 END Move cursor to the end of the envelope.
 CONTROL  END Set up the end of the envelope/set up a maximal length of the envelope.
 INSERT Insert empty step into the envelope at cursor position and shift to the right.
 SHIFT  INSERT Duplicate step at cursor position and shift to the right.
 DELETE Delete step at cursor position and shift to the left.
 SPACE Clear the envelope step at cursor position and move cursor to the right.

Mouse control

Volume envelope area

 LeftMouseButton Draw the volume envelope.
 RightMouseButton Set the volume to zero in the envelope.

INFO EDIT

NAMEName of the song and author, 64 chars max.
MUSIC SPEED: AA/MM/S
AACurrent song speed, from $01 to $FF.
MMMain speed, from $01 to $FF. By default the main speed is used when a song plays from the beginning.
SEngine speed, from $1 to $8. (X player calls per frame.) Technically, speed above 4 is unsupported in the exported formats.

Hotkeys

 LEFT ,  RIGHT ,  TAB Move cursor.
 SHIFT  TAB Move cursor song name line.
 0-F ,  CONTROL+LEFT ,  CONTROL+UP ,  CONTROL+RIGHT ,  CONTROL+DOWN Change parameter values (in valid ranges only).
 ENTER Return from INFO EDIT to the currently active screen (Tracks or Instruments edit).

Mouse control

MAXTRACKLENGTH, MONO/STEREO, PAL/NTSC

 LeftMouseButton Toggle or prompt dialog boxes for each elements, then apply changes to the song.

SONG EDIT

 LEFT ,  RIGHT ,  UP ,  DOWN ,  PAGE UP ,  PAGE DOWN ,  TAB ,  SHIFT+TAB Move cursor.
 HOME Move cursor to the start of the song.
 END Move cursor to last song line with valid data.
 CONTROL  PAGE UP Move cursor to the start of current subsong or start of previous subsong if the action is repeated.
 CONTROL  PAGE DOWN Move cursor to start of next subsong.
 0-F ,  CONTROL+LEFT ,  CONTROL+RIGHT ,  BACKSPACE Change the pattern track number or "go to line" value in the song.
 INSERT ,  CONTROL+I ,  DELETE ,  CONTROL+U Insert/delete lines in the song (with auto-change of all relevant "go to line" values).
 CONTROL  D Duplicate the current pattern track, and put it at the same place. (Note: If the pattern track is only used once in song, a messagebox asking for confirmation will appear.)
 CONTROL  G Set "go to line" command in the song at current position.
 CONTROL  N Put new empty unused track to current song position and active channel.
 CONTROL  O Insert copy or clone of song line(s).
 CONTROL  P Prepare song line with unused empty tracks.
 ENTER Return from SONG EDIT to the currently active screen (Tracks or Instruments edit).

PROVE (JAM) MODE

Navigation is identical in TRACKS and SONG areas, but editing is disabled, and replaced with tonekeys always playing notes.
INSTRUMENTS and INFO areas will still behave the same as they are in EDIT MODE, simply hold SHIFT to test notes, except when the text is being edited.